Salina man now held on $2.5M Bond for 2016 shooting of police officer

JACKSON COUNTY, ILL —A Jackson County grand jury has returned a Superseding Indictment on August 9, 2018, charging Alex. B. Karcher, age 24, of Salina, Kansas, with charges related to the shooting of Carbondale Police Officer Trey Harris on July 31, 2016, according to a media release from the Jackson County Attorney.

Karcher -photo Jackson County, IL

Karcher was previously indicted with four others for conspiracy to possess with the intent to deliver more than 5,000 grams of a substance containing cannabis in Jackson and Williamson Counties.

The trial on that case was scheduled to begin Monday but was continued considering the additional charges returned by the grand jury, according to the release.

In addition to the charge of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 5,000 grams of Cannabis, Karcher now faces one count of aggravated battery and six counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, all of which are Class X felonies.

The Indictment alleges that Karcher, while acting together and in concert with others and being legally accountable for the actions of each other, without legal justification, knowingly discharged a .223 caliber firearm, thereby causing injury to Trey Harris, a person he knew to be a peace officer performing his official duties. The six counts of aggravated discharge of a Firearm allege that Karcher fired six shots which did not hit the officer from a .223 caliber firearm in the direction of a vehicle he knew to be occupied by a peace officer while the officer was engaged in the execution of his official duties.

The sentences that may be imposed range from 15 to 60 years on the aggravated battery charge, and from 10-45 years on each charge of aggravated discharge of a firearm. Probation is not available for these charges.

Karcher is currently being held in the Jackson County Jail with bond set at $2.5 million dollars and will appear on Friday in Jackson County Circuit Court on the Superseding Indictment.

The investigation is ongoing and is being pursued by the Illinois State Police, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the Carbondale Police Department, the Metro- East Forensic Science Lab, the Southern Illinois Enforcement Group, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, and Salina, Kansas Police Department. State’s Attorney Michael Carr is responsible for the prosecution.